Road-scraper



G. N. MILLER.

No. 403,888. Patented May 21 1889.

('No'Model.) l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. N. MILLER.

ROAD SGRAPER. v

No. 403,888. Patented May 21 1889.

Wwamw where portions of the segment extend for UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE N. MILLER, OF ASIITON, ASSIGNOR TO FREDERICK O. AUSTIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ROAD-SCRAPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 403,888, dated May 21, 1889.

Application filed July 17, 1888. $erial No. 280,282. (No model.)

To (0% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE N. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ashton, in the county of Lee and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Road-Scrapers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates more particularly to wheeled road-scrapers of that type or class inwhich the scraper-blade is reversible-that is to say, arranged so that it can be swung or vibrated about a vertical line intermediate of its ends, in order that the blade can be reversed in position relative to the line of progression by throwing either end of the blade forward, it being common in the art to designate a scraper-blade thus arranged as reversible.

Prominent objects of my invention are, first, to provide a relative arrangement of draftbar, reversible scraper-blade, and semicircle or segment, whereby the segment as a whole may serve as an abutment which resists the back pull of the scraper-blade, and which, while serving strictly as a push device capable of turning with the scraper-blade and independently of the draft-bar, shall transmit the back pull of the scraper-blade to the draftbar at apoint in rear of the scraper-blade, over which the draft-bar that is pivoted at its forward end to the forward portion of the machine extends, thereby providing a more durable and reliable abutment than in machines Wardly of the scraper-blade, and, further, providing a more efficient construction and arrangement than in machines wherein it has been proposed to arrange the segment upon a push-frame at or near the rear axle; second, to provide, in connection with the scraperblade, a construction and arrangement of draft-bar which provides directly over the space that is immediately in front of and defined in its rear limit by the plane of the scraper-blade an additional space, whereby clods and the like crowded up the front side of the blade may rise without catching upon the draft-bar and without clogging the ma chine, a further object involved in said construction being to insure greater strength of draft-bar than can be attained with the heretofore proposed construction of goose-neck draft-bar, which has a bend located as a whole toward the forward end of the draft-bar and arranged some distance in advance of the scraper-blade, so as to permit either front wheel to run under the machine in turning; third, to provide, in connection with the scraper-blade and draft-bar, a simplified device for pivotally attaching the scraper-blade to the draft-bar and permitting the latter to extend over the scraper-blade at a desirable height above the top edge thereof, so as to further raise the draft-bar above the space directly in front of the scraper-blade; fourth, to permit the segment or turn-table with which the scraper-blade is connected to be moved forward or back in a direction c0incident with the line of progression; fifth, to permit the scraper-blade to be tilted by the forward and back movement of the segment or circle; sixth, to provide an improved arrangement of draft-bar segment and device for turning the segment, whereby the segment, while turning independently of the draft-bar and with the scraper-blade, can by the turning device be operated to turn the scraper-blade, regardless of the character of the connection between the scraper-blade and the segment; seventh, to provide a simplified, durable, economical, and efiicient way of hinge-connecting the segment to the scraperblade and pivoting the scraper-blade; eighth, to permit the scraper-blade to tilt independently of the segment and at the same time arrange the segment ends as an abutment, against which the back of the blade will normally rest; finally, to provide certain novel and improved details serving to increase the general efficiency of the machine.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a road-scraper embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents the road-scraper in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a detail on a larger scale representing in perspective the rear portion of the draft-bar and a bearing attached thereto. Fig. 4 represents an end view of the scraper-blade, and shows in elevation the segment to which it is attached. Fig. 5 is a de tail representing a vertical section through the arm I), and a portion of the scraper-blade to which said arm is secured, said view also to the rear of the scraper-blade. The segment.

D, which serves as a connection between the draft-bar and the scraper-blade, is arranged as a whole in rear of the latter, whereby direct connection between the draft-bar and the segment can be made in rear of the scraperblade. This arrangement therefore serves in effect to connect the draft-bar with the scraperblade back of the latter, and while permitting the employment of a comparatively long draftbar provides back of the scraper-blade an abutment which involves, between its point of connection with the draft-bar back of the scraper-blade and the point where it backs up the scraper-blade by its downwardly-bent arms, a distinct horizontally-arranged thrust device not liable to bend or break, since the back pull of the scraper will be exerted against the length of the horizontal portion of the segment. The length of the draft-bar and the mode of connecting it with the scraperblade through the medium of the segment or other suitable or equivalent connection arranged in rear of scraper-blade permits the draft-bar to be formed with a comparatively long goose-neck or arched portion, .0, which rises from a point somewhat back of the scraper-blade and continues its upward curvature to a considerable extent in front of the same. As a result of such arrangement, the draft-bar is raised out of the way of the front wheels in turning, and also so raised as to avoid all possibility of the machine becoming clogged by soil or sods thrown up in front of the scraper-blade. The objectionable feature of abrupt curvature in the goose-neck portion of the draft-bar is also avoided, it being evident that, whether the draft-bar be forked or undivided, an abrupt curvature would tend to lessen its strength.

In order to permit the scraper=blade to be vibrated horizontally about a point intermediate of its ends so as to change its horizontal angle, an arm, b,is secured to the rear side of the scraper-blade at a point between the ends of the latter and bent back from the same, and a vertical pivot, B, is at its lower end attached to said arm and above such point fitted to turn in any suitable bearing, such as the transversely-arranged suspended rod E. Said pivot also extends up through the draft-bar, which, if desired, may constitute the only bearing for the upper portion of the pivot.

The segment D is attached to the rear side of the scraper-blade and supported in a socket-piece or bearing, F, which latter is in turn carried by the draft-bar at a point in rear of scraper-blade. The segment is permitted'to slide through the bearing F, so that the scraper-blade may be turned abouta vertical axis passing through the pivot B, and as a means for temporarily holding the scraper-blade against turning the bearing F can be provided with any suitable latch or locking device, the latch f, herein employed, being simply a spring-controlled sliding rod, which is normally held in engagement with the segment by a spring, f

In order to permit the inclination of the scraper-blade to be varied with reference to the character of the soil and the work to be done, the forwardly-arranged and downwardly-bent arms or end portions of the half-circle or segment D are hinged to the rear side of the scraper-blade at points preferably below the longitudinal middle line of the latter, as best shown in Fig. 4, wherein the tilting scraper-blade is shown resting against and hence backed by said arms.

The bearing F is for the aforesaid purpose adj ustably attached to the draft-bar,whereby it can be shifted either forwardly or to the rear, so as to correspondingly shift the segment, and hencedetermine the pitch orinclination of the scraper-blade. In this connection the pivot B has a jointed connection with the scraper-blade-as, for example, the lower end of the pivot can be hinged to the arm I) by a pintle, b, as in Fig. 5.

WVhile the various constructions of bearings adjustable in a direction coincident with the line of progression could be employed for connecting the segment of the draft-bar, I prefer to form the latter of flanged iron or of I-beam shape, so that the upper portion of bearing F may be recessed to receive the lower flanges of such beam, as in Fig. 3. I do not, however, confine myself to this precise form, since various modes of adjustablyattaching the bearing F to the draft-bar could obviously be adopted.

As a means for adjusting the bearing F along the draft-bar, I have herein provided an adj Listing-screw, G. Said screw is at the the draft-bar. Thereby it may engage and serve as a convenient means for adjusting the bearing F.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination and arrangement, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the reversible scraper blade, the draft-bar extending over and to the rear of the scraper-blade, and the segment positioned as a whole in rear of the scraper-blade, said segment having its forward downwardly-extending end portions formed to provide abutments which back the scraper-blade, and having its horizontal portion which is back of its said end portions connected with the draft-bar in rear of the ICO rear end provided with asuitable handle and is arranged to work through a bearing, 0, on

scraper-blade by a sliding connection which permits the segment to turn with the horizontal reversing movement of said scraper-blade, for the purpose described.

2. The combination of the arched draft-bar C and the reversible scraper-blade pivotally connected with the arched draft-bar at or near the rear end of the arch c, which said arch rises forwardly from a point over the top edge of the scraper-blade, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the draft-bar extending over and to the rear of the scraper-blade, and the scraper-blade provided with an arm, I), which is rigidly secured to the scraper-blade and pivoted to the draft-bar.

4. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the arched draft-bar G and the reversible scraper-blade having an arm, I), which is attached to the scraper-blade and pivoted to the draft-bar at the rear termination of the arch c.

5. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the scraper-blade, of the segment attached to the scraper-blade, and the bearing adjustably attached to the draft-bar and supporting the segment, for the purpose described.

6. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the laterally-tilting scraper-blade, of the segment hinged to the scraper-blade, and a bearing supporting said segment and adjustable coincident with the line of progression, for the purpose described.

7. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the reversible scraperblade, the draft-bar extending over and to the rear of the scraper-blade, the segment arranged back of and as a backing for the scraper-blade, and having in rear of the latter a connection with the draft-bar, which per-- mits the segment to turn independently of the draft-bar, a chain-wheel mounted upon the draft-bar in rear of the scraper-blade, and a chain passing about the chain-Wheel and attached to the segment.

8. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the scraper-blade, the segment hinged to the scraper-blade, and the arm I), attached to the upper portion of the scraper-blade and pivotally connected with the pivot B, for the purpose described.

9. The combination, with the scraper-blade, of the segment arranged in rear of the scraperblade, and having the terminals of its downwardly-bent end portions hinged to the back of the scraper-blade, substantially as described.

GEORGE N. MILLER.

Witnesses:

CHAS. G. PAGE, L. L. PAGE. 

